Christmas 2018 - Mega index and Christmas chat!!!!

VfM4meplse

^^ I'm not a whisky drinker and couldn't tell Scotch from Irish by taste, but there is no way I am going to open my Chivas Regal to soak my Christmas dried fruit in. Why then are supermarket "budget" brands so expensive? They never seemed to be in previous years. I just don't get it

(Predicting that wet weekend and was looking forward to some chopping).

Wraithlady

Cooking sherry instead?

IrishRose12

Oh a Christmas thread:T

I've already started......... in fact I started last Christmas Eve in the Boots sale:o

Bought a few bits and pieces, in particular perfume sets, for Birthdays and Christmas this year.
My only problem is I switched jobs this year and instead of my usual teachers who I work with to buy for I'm on the top floor and working with 2 pregnant teachers and a teacher who hates Christmas:eek:

So now need to figure out what I can buy for 2 pregnat ladies who I hardly know:huh::think:

x_raphael_xx

IrishRose12 wrote: »

So now need to figure out what I can buy for 2 pregnat ladies who I hardly know:huh::think:

How about this book??

Very MSE :rotfl:

firebubble

On the food front I have bought a turkey crown, some party food as I had room in the freezer, a Xmas pud and some cheeselets. I am determined not to buy so much food this year, we'll see if I can pull that off

We should do a Christmas grocery challenge - as somone who does tend to eat (and drink) stashes, I'm sure it works out more expensive if you start buying 'bargains' earlier!

Prinzessilein

I have just bought a box of my favourite Turkish Delight (non-chocolate covered...and with bits of pistachio in the sweets)….it is firmly stashed at the VERY back of the kitchen cupboard!!!!...I am NOT going to open it before December 1st!....It was a good price, but that would be negated if I had to buy a second one!!!...(plus my decreasing waist size would not thank me for it....delicious though it is!)

I still have last year's Advent Calendar...I don't have the choccie sort - just 24 windows with pictures to open...all the doors are intact...I am considering seeing if I can reclose the doors and use it again this year!...failing that I will buy a small cheap one...it is just for the fun of counting down.

cbsexec

Im trying to cut down on the family present buying this year and wondered what others do? I want to stop everyone spending so much when most of them just buy what they want throughout the year anyway but would still like to keep the token "gift for christmas". Do I suggest a price limit? Any ideas?

firebubble

My family doesn't do presents, except for the tiniest members, but it took a good few years to get to this point - the trick is to see it as a longer term process of reduction. We started by cutting out presents to wider family, and 'downgrading' to a box of biscuits (a few years of swapping biscuits, and most people are perfectly happy to stop entirely). We limited our own family presents to £50, then £20 each, then everyone got married, so suddenly it was still expensive, and still so difficult to buy anything other than landfill for most people for £20.
Then we went to one present per couple- that was better in terms of ease of buying, but still no cheaper overall.
Then we went to a Secret Santa (ie names in a hat, so everyone only had to buy one present). That got everyone used to not having to do all the shopping and also to receiving one present, which feels a bit empty the first year, but in subsequent years is fine.
We then had a couple of years of yankee swap/white elephant, which coincided with a few people being broke due to normal life events (babies, moving, renovations) where we did a £10 limit and joke presents. Then even that ended when there were more little ones, and less time to faff about shopping for landfill

.....and then we were FREEEEEEE from buying overpriced tat, that no adult really wants, and it is a glorious thing.

Being freed from all the shopping is amazing, because you can then focus on actually hosting/visiting people, which is far more satisfying than walking around the shops thinking of them instead.

cbsexec

Thats what I want to achieve. Its how to convince everyone else.


I am hoping to either put a price limit/secret santa this year and wean everyone off gently.


I feel getting together is much more important but want that habit to be formed instead of getting together to swap presents (if you see what I mean)!

firebubble

Definitely - it does take a while, we had the same thing with some people insisting they had to buy presents, which meant we continued a lot longer than the rest of us wanted. Good luck!